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Attack Attacked Attacker

In looking at many dreams in which attack takes place, it is obvious that there are many degrees and forms of attack. So attack or being attacked can represent many things such as feeling attacked or threatened by ones own impulses such as anger or sexuality; feeling surreptitiously attacked by other people and their attitude to you or their remarks; a subtle sense of being attacked by age, or a serious attack by an illness – one speaks of an asthma or virus attack for instance, but also one may be attacked by a poison, or food if one is allergic to it; one might personally attack an issue or a project, and so a dream might depict one attacking something in this sense; confidence may be attacked; it is a common term in sport or business, and so may refer to attitude or energy. This aspect of attack may also refer to ones beliefs, or to other peoples, which may be attacked and threatened; attack is also sometimes a form of defence, so may suggest defensiveness about some issue or aspect of ones life. A positive side to attack is that we often feel attacked by an emerging new insight or positive personal change. We feel it as an attack because it threatens our old way of life, our habitual way of ding things and thinking about things.

It is important to define or be aware of ones response to threat or attack in a dream. Experiments in connection with dreams in which the person runs away from attack, or is very passive, show that if the dreamer visualises changing the situation and faces attackers, their dreams and even waking behaviour changes radically. Passivity in dream situations may depict the innate feeling that we are helpless in dealing with the feelings involved. This usually dates from past experience, perhaps in childhood, where in fact one did not have the strength or maturity to meet what was happening. See Life Changes.

Occasionally attack in dreams shows a desire to be attacked in order to live out forms of self punishment or sadism. In most such cases this desire arises out of a need to remember, and make fully conscious, punishment or sadism that has been practised on the dreamer.

Being attacked: This dream usually arises because in some way you are repressing, in conflict with, or frightened off your own emotions, sexuality or anger. Occasionally the fear is about ones own potential or expanded awareness.

Attacked by animal: Feeling under threat from external events or internal emotions, impulses or ideas; feeling a victim in relationship to others and self; taking a defensive attitude. The repression or fear here is in regard to your own natural urges. Sometimes our dreams put into animal form someone who we feel is expressing anger toward us.

Attacked by shadowy or frightening figure: Our childhood traumas and fears may take this guise in a dream. So in this case the attack is depicting our feelings of fear and pain surrounding those past issues. How we meet such an attack is important. If we run from it, the trauma may remain largely unconscious, and therefore capable of influencing our behaviour negatively. Better to explore it or change it. (For help doing this see Stand in Role under peerdream work.)

Attacked by animal: Introverting one’s own aggression or sexuality; fear of one’s own natural urges; anxiety about aggression in oneself or other people; feeling attacked by an external person.

Being the attacker: This is more positive, as you are not being passive and hurt in your dreams. But you are still in conflict with whatever it is your attacking. Considering that what you attack is probably a part of your own personality, it might be better to meet it in some way. Positive self expression; defending oneself against something one feels threatened by; attempt to destroy some urge or feeling in oneself or others. The word attack is also used in many ways, so might refer to an ‘attack’ of an illness, or ‘heart attack’. Can express the difference between feeling threatened by a work/relationship/sex problem, or feeling challenged by it in a way to stimulate creativity or research.

Bird attacking: Fear of ideas, ideals or opinions; verbal attack by others; fear of the Self – a view of things that may destroy ones present more limited views or opinions.

Sexual attack: This has many aspects, and can at times be a re-playing of previous sexual attacks, or an expression of fear concerning them. But we also create dreams of sexual attack when we are frightened of our own feelings and desires. Grof gives the interesting account of a woman who experienced many images of sexual attack. He says:-

…. whenever a boy friend initiated even the most innocent sexual approach, such as touching. embracing, or kissing, she was overwhelmed with terror. It seemed to her that when such a situation occurred, her lover was actually changing physically and assuming animal features. Repeatedly, she fled from these situations in a state of panic anxiety and never wanted to see her partner again. Episodes of this kind were repeatedly relived …. with details of the physical setting, as well as the physical sensations and emotions involved. From Realms of The Human Unconscious, by S. Grof. Published by Souvenir Press.

Someone else being attacked: Anger or aggression toward another; killing off an aspect of oneself represented by the person in the dream. If the person is someone you are in relationship with, it suggests an attempt, however short, to distance oneself from them emotionally. See: fight; War.

Example: I had this dream at a time when there was a lot of talk and anxiety in newspapers and on television about nuclear war. In the dream a nuclear attack had been announced. I immediately thought of my children who are away in boarding school. I go out into the street to see if I can get to them, but realise it is hopeless. In the street everybody is walking about as if it were a holiday Sunday. I realised there was no time to get to my children so decided to join the people on the street. John C.

John had this dream at a time when there was a lot of media coverage about nuclear attack. It is therefore most likely dealing with his real fears about how he would deal with such an attack if it happened.

Example: Whilst suffering from nervous exhaustion three years ago. I had a recurring nightmare that left me feeling totally worthless and wretched. In it I underwent an indecent attack upon my person by my father. I was about four or five in the dream. It was not the attack in itself that left me with these feelings, but rather the look my mother gave me shortly afterwards – making me feel like a specimen in a jar. In the dream I sensed she had refused to be his wife fully, until he had got us into our own home again. I sense she is blaming me for not being able to continue with this threat, and that once more she will have to suffer my father’s attentions because of me. There is no one to help me so I decide to leave. I pack a small case, which I believe someone gets for me. In reality I did try to leave home at this age but got no further than the bus stop across the road. Maria.

Maria gives no indication of whether she was abused by her father, but the dream is certainly dealing with the sexual politics of her parents.

Example: Several men attacked me and were trying to drag me off somewhere against my will. As the dream progressed, or replayed, I began to realise that it only appeared like an attack because I was resisting the process. In fact the men wanted to show me something that was important to me. They were being quite gentle, but because of my resistance, it felt to me like an aggressive act. My thoughts about this are that this may represent the way I feel about events. Because of underlying anxiety, I feel events and changes, such as losing my job are very threatening and difficult to bear. In fact no harm has come from these events at all. The dream suggests that I am being led somewhere if only I would go along with things. Albie R.

Sometimes it is our response to the action that makes it appear like an attack. So it is worthwhile entering the dream again in imagination and exploring it – try Acting on your dream.

Useful Questions and Hints:

If I take the images away what are my feelings about the attack, and where am I meeting those feelings?

Comments

-Sneha2016-06-06 10:20:03

I saw a dream.. where a creature like short dinasaurwith big head gave a leave to crow and then crow flew away..

Then i was amazed to see that this happens here.. but then that creature came to me and i was so scared .. bcoz it was meant to eat me .. but then somehow escaped and i ran into a temple. then their a lady i asked for help .. she helped me to hide but even she was scared of it as if she was familiar to it and is something dangerous. Then lady made me hide outisde window . but creature found me and when lady tried to beg her spare me .. creature became a samll girl and ushed that lady down from outside window.. then it took me.. then i was in forest me being dragged all the way and i was not in conscious .. then i saw they have covered me like to make mumies. but then 2 guys came and unknowingly they did something and my face got unwrapped and i was saved.. end was not very clear but this was what it was.

The power of the dream I had last night has left me feeling so unsettled. In the dream, I would so appreciate any pointers you could give in assisting me to understand the message from tis dream. I am battling to view it objectively.
I was in a dark house, with my husband. The house had been surrounded by attackers who knew we were inside. Their intent was to kill us. We could hear them talking and knew what they were planning. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. They were taking their time but it was only a question of when they would come. Their intention was to kill us.

Hi – I am sorry I cannot keep up with number of dreams sent at the moment. But I have described a way that you can get to the meaning of your dream. It only takes a little time to work at knowing the meaning of your dream.

But Gisele – So whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen, so that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear; so all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind.

Also the images, people, animals, places we see in our dreams, are simply your own feelings, fears, hopes and wonder projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind as images. So, it makes sense to take the image of your dream person, thing or animal back into you and own it. In that way, you are actually meeting and dealing with the things about yourself you are not owning or conscious of. That is why dreams are often difficult to understand, because we are hiding things from ourselves.

So it sounds like you suffer from anxiety, but if you actually face the attackers they will disappear.

Example: I was in a room with lots of animals, suddenly a wild thing burst through the wall to the left, one of the little animals run through the hole It was like a nightmare. I used the technique Tony taught me and I became the wild thing, and was suddenly I was full of energy, the sort of energy that could do anything powerful. The image of a fox in the hen house came to mind, but it did not feel harmful, just full of life’s energy empowering me.

I was very unsettled after waking from a dream of someone sitting on me in my dream with some else being in mine and my husbands bed. or the other dream is that someones holding the back of my head with there hand putting pressure. On reading your responses will hopefully settle me back down for a good night rest

Hi – I must take time to upgrade the dream dictionary, so must halt from answering your posts – I started revising the dictionary in 2006, and haven’t neared the end yet. I believe someone else may start giving interpretations.

So, whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen, so that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear; so all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/useful-techniques/

It is also important to realise that every image, every scary or terrifying thing, is taken place inside you, in your mind, as you sleep. This means that every awful animal, every scary thing or person, is created out of your own fears and must not be seen as outside you as happens in waking awareness. The problem is that we are often scared of or frightened of actually experiencing our emotions and so they confront us in our dreams.

I had a dream last night where I was attacked by a large bird, either a falcon or a hawk. When I fell on my back I grabbed a butcher knife next to me to try to stab it. I don’t know if I ever actually wounded it or killed it, but it kept chasing me as I managed to get away from under it and run. I would just stop and be prepared to have a stab attack and run as it was always coming for me. In the midst of all this, there was a pale blonde haired, greyish-blue eyed little boy sitting in a pull cart I believe in the middle of this land, and he said to me “‘mommy there’s no one left to protect me” (I am 16 and not a mother) I knew I was dreaming. I became protective over the boy as the bird flew around. I held his face and told him everything’s going to be okay, that I AM THE ONE WHO IS DREAMING. That he was safe. The bird swooped in to attack so I picked up the boy and ran next to a hill, as the bird flew toward us I set him down and told him to run as fast as he could, away, up the hill. My one knife had the tip break off, I managed to find a rusted one, I held both in my hands running, I turned around one last time and attempted to attack. Then my dream switched over the a different dream..

Hi – I must take time to upgrade the dream dictionary, so must halt from answering your posts – I started revising the dictionary in 2006, and haven’t neared the end yet. I believe someone else may start giving interpretations.

Whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen, so that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear; so all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind.

It is also important to realise that every image, every scary or terrifying thing, is taken place inside you, in your mind, as you sleep. This means that every awful animal, every scary thing or person, is created out of your own fears and must not be seen as outside you as happens in waking awareness. The problem is that we are often scared of or frightened of actually experiencing our emotions and so they confront us in our dreams. Avoiding them or controlling them is like running away from oneself – there is no escape.

So imagine letting the bird attack you – after all, it is only your imagination. It is your feelings/emotions you fighting off, better to face them.

Hi, so over the last week I’ve had a dream of this little boy who’s face is Sunken in making its eyes pop out and it’s been trying to get me and in my dream when I try tell for help my voice doesn’t work or it’s very weak till I wake up to myself screaming help. I just woke up then as this time when it was near me I saw someone else, and oldish man telling me I have to fight it and it was like a ghost and lead me to the lounge room, (all dreams are in my nana house) everything is dark mind you and it’s hard to see and he lead me to near the door we’re this little boy appeared and tried to threaten me and I got up the courage to say something but my voice didn’t work and it just laughed at me and started to come closer and I tried again yelling for help and I woke up in such a fright that I swear I saw that boy in my lounge in my house and I started scream for my partner to wake up and help. I’m actully scared to sleep because I feel all the pain that happened. When I was running ealier in the dream to find this old man who lead me to my nana house I’ve woken at the end of this dream and my legs are so tired as if I had been running… I’m scared and don’t know what to do I feel like it’s in my house.

Hi – I am stopping from answering your posts fully – but will try to give hints; sometimes long ones because I quote from masses I have already put online. Also I need to take time to update the site – dreamhawk.

You are wearing yourself out being so frightened. Whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen, so that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear; so, all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind.

I just had a dream, sitting in the back drivers side of an SUV and as my window was down i see a man pull a rifle and start pinning a father, who was dragging hia child by the hair, in the back. He then slowly approaches the open window as i draw my gun which only has one bullet. I was nervous to miss the shot or unlock the safety til he approached and once he did i allowed myself to be within fatal distance of the gunman before taking 2 shots from his gun and not missing my one shot, blowing a hole through his chest. What is the meaning ANYONE, im kinda freaked out right now lol.[email protected]

Sorry just realized i put wrong email and not sure oif ill find this post again.
Tony Crisp thanks for responding to the concerns people have. Not expecting you to see this, but your post here has enlightened me

Roc – To start with, whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear. So all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind.

Example: I was getting ready to leave and this dark haired guy told me I couldn’t leave, I felt scared and was going to leave anyways, he pulled out a pistol and shot me in the stomach, I fell down, but there was no blood. The thoughts in my head was, “OH NO”. Next thing I remember is that I was still on the floor in the same place and I got up and I remembered being shot but I didn’t seem to have any pain or blood and was moving normally etc. I started looking for a way to leave I was sneaking around trying not to get noticed so that I could get out of there without the shooter guy seeing me.

The interesting thing in the example is that even though she could see no hurt came from being shot, yet she was still scared of the guy with the shooter. And it is overcoming such fears that can release you from terror and hurts that haunt us.

I just had a dream, sitting in the back drivers side of an SUV and as my window was down i see a man pull a rifle and atart pinning a father, who was dragging hia child by the hair, in the back. He then slowly approaches the open window as i draw my gun which only has one bullet. I was nervous to miss the shot or unlock the safety til he approached and once he did i allowed myself to be within fatal distance of the gunman before taking 2 shots from his gun and not missing my one shot, blowing a hole through his chest. What is the meaning ANYONE, im kinda freaked out right now lol.[email protected]

I had a very strange dream where I was in the car with my mum and we seen the monopoly man walking by the roundabout we went to tale a photo when he was attacked by somone I knew about 10 years ago and haven’t even really thought of them for years either. Then the person I know handed me a very small knive and throw it away to the other side of the room so if it was found it was my fingerprints. The person was treating everyone and I said I was scared of them although I was they got angry and said I should be I then told them I wasn’t as I know they are decent and didn’t mean all this and gave them a cuddle. Next I was back in the car and kept seeing police cars and people lying on the road.

When i was 4 a dark Figure holding a crowbar started invading my Dreams He never Spoke. The same figure shoed up again when i was 14 again never said a word he would just watch me then recently at the age of 25 This Figure showed up again This Time More violent he kicked open my backdoor and this time he spoke i asked him what he wanted and he said YOUR SOUL i was very scared and im not usually afraid. This is too real to be my imagination he showed up when i was 4 and i was fully awake. please reply

Dustin – In life and sleep we have two powerful actions working in us. The first is our waking experience based on having a body, its limitations, vulnerabilities and a particular gender. Our second is the power that gave us life and continues to express as spontaneous movement in dreams, in our breathing and heartbeat – our life. This I have given the description as the Life Will.

While we sleep our conscious self is largely or totally unconscious, and while we sleep and dream our voluntary muscles are paralysed – therefore another will or motivating force moves our body. So we have a Conscious Will, and what I will call a Life Will. The first one we have experience of as we can move our arm or speak in everyday activities; but the second will takes over when we sleep.

It is the Life Will that has been trying to break into your conscious self – not as an enemy but as a friend. It had to be forceful because we have to remember that having a personality with self awareness is a very new thing and has only existed for a short time. Before that we were like animals that lived only in the Life Will – what we usually call instincts. So the development of self awareness was an immense step, and left us very vulnerable, and still does. It is still such a difficult thing to be conscious as a human being thousands of us are on anti-depressants, drink alcohol daily, use cigarettes and drugs – of which deaden our feelings.

Many people as their awareness reaches beyond what they feel is their normal self feel scared. Such resistances cause us to create awful dreams and fears as a means of avoiding our own inner world and its wonders. We feel that we will be swallowed up and we will die. It is important to say that when we meet the experience of powerlessness through becoming aware of the hugeness of your Life, which we are usually unaware if, it feels like something alien or attacking, and it is a shock.

As an example – I am in a very dark, bleak house, with a young boy. It is night outside and the house is isolated. A dark, shadowy, Thing, is trying to get into the house. I am terrified of it, and I am holding the young boy behind me protectively while I try to keep the door closed with my foot, as the Thing batters at it. James.

James explored his dream by imagining opening the door and meeting the Thing. When he did this, feelings from childhood arose – the young boy. He felt the fear of the German bombs he had experienced in his youth. He opened the door and found it was his Life – the person he could be now having faces his fears.

It was you soul it wanted – the you that had been denied and hidden by fear.

Yesterday i saw a dream as i am married to someone else while in real m with someone else, the person married to in my dream is totally stranger to me, i think i was divorced n married to this guy in my dream as i often remembered my real hisband in my dream, so my dream goes like this, m living in house with this person seems to be my husband, a small party was there in th evening, when all guest left, the husband went to get fresh n up n i was waiting for him in our room, suddenly i felt some noises coming from the house so i asked my husband to check if someone is still in the house, while checkin we heared some noises from other bathroom n when opened it it was aome stranger aged 55 or 60years hidding the bathroom, he suddenly started rubbish which i dnt remember, i think he was some psycho, he then suddenly attched with some object as screw driver to the husband n fell on the bed beside me n he as about to attack me as well and thats the time i got up shouting from my dream.
I am unable to understand this how can i be married again to sumone else while i am happily married to my husband n truly in love with him, the house the person’s all were strangers to me